Fantasy Football: Some Cards up for consideration

Sunday

Sep 30, 2012 at 6:00 AM

Josh Bousquet Fantasy Football

If one had to predict which NFL teams would be undefeated after three games, Houston and Atlanta would have been defendable choices. None of you would have had the Cardinals on the list, no matter how much of a gambling proclivity fantasy owners possess.

Yet somehow this team with a quarterback controversy that lasted throughout training camp and got muddled with a first-week injury has gone 3-0. At least that kind of makes the Patriots' Week 2 loss to Arizona a little easier to take. I'm still not ready to talk about last Sunday, however.

This is from a Cardinals team with only one necessary draftable commodity. Granted it was a real good one in receiver Larry Fitzgerald, but with no one else surrounding him, how good could the team be?

The Cardinals have largely done their damage on defense, ranking 10th in the league and giving up 316 yards per game. They have been even better at keeping teams off the scoreboard, ranking second in the league by giving up just 40 points.

They haven't been that prolific on the other side of the ball, only scoring a middling 67 points, but there must be something going on there that deserves a look.

Arizona has got very little done on the ground, gaining only 81.3 yards per game to rank 26th. Apparent lead back Beanie Wells was placed on IR this week, though, meaning the path is clearer for Ryan Williams to enhance his fantasy value. He has only gained 105 yards on 31 carries this season, so he doesn't seem primed to break out, but if he is available in your league, his enhanced opportunity makes him worth stashing on your bench.

Somehow they have got even less done through the air, ranking 29th at 181 yards per game. Kevin Kolb has been steady at the QB spot after taking over for an ankle-hobbled John Skelton in Week 1. Kolb has completed 38 of 59 passes for 428 yards. Nothing big there, but he has four touchdowns without throwing an interception. That is quite a shift from the performances that caused him to lose his starting slot last season (see chart).

That not throwing interceptions thing appears important for these undefeated teams. Houston's Matt Schaub has five TDs and only one pick, while Atlanta's Matt Ryan has eight TDs against only one INT.

Schaub and Ryan aren't players you can still grab. Kolb, though, is owned in less than 10 percent of fantasy leagues and may be worth looking into for a bye-week replacement or bench player if Arizona continues its team momentum.

Kolb occasionally needs someone other than Fitzgerald to throw the ball to, and Andre Roberts seems to have become his secondary option. He has only caught nine passes, but they've been good for 111 yards and two touchdowns. Those numbers aren't great, but he will continue to demand more attention if he remains a frequent end-zone option.

Not that it ever affected the fantasy world that greatly, but it was still a welcome sight when the real NFL officials took the field Thursday night for the Browns-Ravens game.

It seemed only fitting that that game ended with Hail Mary attempts that went for naught after the Monday night debacle that gave Seattle victory.

That play only didn't affect the fantasy world because it was Seahawks receiver Golden Tate who 'came down with the ball.' Tate's notoriety gave his fantasy numbers a jump, but he started the week owned in less than 1 percent of leagues. And if you lost a matchup because of a late Tate touchdown, your team has bigger problems than the refs.

It was still disheartening to see such an egregious error and imagine how it could have affected our fantasy lives. So at least this week, we can place our referee hatred where it rightfully belongs when things don't go our way.

And this week does present one very intriguing matchup as New Orleans travels to Green Bay for a 4:25 game today. Somehow this is occurring with the teams sporting one combined win.

And just as Arizona is doing its thing in defiance of stats, the same thing seems to be happening here. The Packers have the third-ranked defense in the league and are tops against the pass. The Saints have the NFL's sixth-ranked passing offense, averaging just under 285 yards per game.

This is one of those matchups where something has to give. My bet is that New Orleans will be the giver — Green Bay gets that Lambeau Field advantage and has to have some lingering resentment from the Tate screw job.

The Packers are also the team that allowed eight sacks in the first half to even allow the chance for the replacements to steal the game, though.

Either way, one team is going to emerge from this game in a serious downward spiral. Whichever team that is will have one of fantasy's elite QBs at its helm. Whoever that happens to be should then be shopped around this coming week while retaining some of that value.

Yes, after just four games, it's going to be time to think of parting ways with Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees. And who could have seen that coming?